Instead, Fudan University will likely punish such students with warnings or negative reports in their student records, according to a report Monday on the official China Daily newspaper's Web site.

An article about the changes posted on Fudan's campus Internet bulletin board said warnings would be given for premarital sex. Engaging in prostitution or visiting prostitutes would result in expulsion, it said.

The China Daily report said school officials have declined to comment. Calls to the university's student administration office rang unanswered on Monday.

The changes were prompted by Education Ministry reforms, issued in March, that aim to eliminate random punishments and rules that conflict with the law or constitution. The new rules take effect in September, after classes resume.

Setting a precedent
Fudan University's rule change is viewed as likely to set a precedent for other campuses in China.

The expulsion-for-sex rule has stirred much controversy and debate in China's usually tightly controlled state media — and widespread disdain among students.